Protective visor for industrial hats



J1me 1940- c. w. MCCLUNGET AL v 2 2,204,638

PROTECTIVE VISOR FOR INDUSTRIAL HATS Filed April 4, 1938 INVENTORS 9 [has W M -C/uhg e:

Pau/ Ransom Qqksm ATTORN EY Patented June 18, 1940 NT OFFICE a PRoTEoTIvE vIsoRFoR INDUSTRIAL HATS Charles William McClung,'El Dorado, and Paul Ransom, ShingleSprings, Calif. Application April l, 1938,Serial.No.19il,914 l V Claims. (ore-'10) f This invention relates generally to eye protec tive equipment for industrial workers and in particular the invention is directed to a protective visor for use in combination with industrial hats and especially those having hard crowns and rims and known to the trade as hard hats. Heretofore, industrial Workers, in certain occupations such as mining Where flying particles endanger. the eyes, have used the common type goggle which engages the face and is uncomfortable when worn over any substantial period of time. In fact, many workers rather than wear goggles abandon the same and risk injury. It is therefore our principal object to provide a protective visor, for use in combination with industrial hats, whichisso constructed that it doesnot engage the face of the wearer, provides full vision, andmay be easily adjusted from a position before a persons eyes to a retracted position clear of such persons line of vision. An additional object of our invention is to provide a novel arrangement whereby the visor, when used with an industrial hat of the hard crown type, is effectively held in a retracted position.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly efiective for the pur pose for which itis designed.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the visor mounted on a hat and in a retracted position.

Figure 2 is a similar view but with the visor lowered for use. t

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the visor unit, detached.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, we prefer to incorporate our protective visor (hereinafter described'in detail) in an industrial hard hat including, as is usual, a crown I, an integral brim I, a lamp support 3 on the front of the crown, anda semi-rigid head band 4 disposed within the crown in spaced relation therefrom. The dead band 4 is supported at circumferentially ;paced points on the lower ends of brackets 5 by snap buttons 6; the brackets being riveted internediate their ends to the crown l as at l. The ipper ends of brackets 5 are slotted andcarry the usual head Web 8- The visor is constructed as an integral unit and mounted in the following manner: l

The numeral 9 indicates the eye shield portion of the visor which is curved from side to side to conform generally to the curve of a wearers face; this shield being cut away as at H) to provide nose clearance. Arms ll extend rearwardly at an upwardly slope from the sides of eye shield 9 adjacent the bottom thereof, said arms being curved inwardly as shown andin substantial symmetry to the curvature of the sides of head band t;

The arms are provided with holes it at their engaging and shock absorbing rear ends, and these arms are disposed between the head band 4 and brackets 5 and with the rear snap buttons 6 engaged through saidholes I2. The rear ends of arms H are thus swingably secured between brackets 5 and head band 4. In order thatthe arms may swing upward until the eye shield 51 is clear of the wearers line of vision, the arms at their forward ends are cut away at the upper edge, as at I3, which permits sufficient arm movement without obstruction by the forward bracket and snap button assemblies.

The shield 9 is held in retracted position (Fig. 1) by means of an integral, upwardly extending tongue or extension M on the eye shield 9, such extension being curved the same as the shield and substantially the same as the interior sur face of crown l. Extension l4 frictionally engages the inner crown surface at all times in face to face contact and as the visor unit is somewhat resilient, the unit is held retracted until needed. To adjust the visor before the eyes, the wearer need only draw the shield downwardto place; the extension then being lowered but still in close frictional engagement with the crown (Fig. 2) maintaining the unit in place. This extension also, of course, provides a closure betweenthe hat and the eye shield proper, preventing any particles from dropping between the visor and i the face of the wearer.

The protective visor is made of a transparent and shatterproof material and preferably that thermoplastic resin known as Lucite and which has fine optical characteristics.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device.

still in practice such deviations from such detail 5 1. In the combination of a. hat having a hard crown and a head band secured therein in spaced relation thereto, and a visor unit including a transparent eye shield adapted when in use to be disposed in front of the eyes of the wearer, and means mounting said eye shield on the hat for upward movement from an operative position in front of the eyes of the wearer to an inoperative position out of the line of vision of the wearer; a tongue projecting upward from said eye shield between said hat band and crown and positioned to engage the inner surface of the crown at the front of the hat in frictional holding relation.

2. In the combination of a hat having a hard crown and a head band secured therein in spaced relation thereto, and a visor unit including a transparent eye shield adapted when in use to be disposed in front of the eyes of the wearer, and means-mounting said eye shield on the hat for upward movement from an operative position in front of the eyes of the wearer to an inoperative position out of the line of vision of the wearer; altongue projecting upward from said eye shield and, between. the hat band and crown, said tongue engaging the inner surface of the crown in frictional holding relation and being of. sufficient length to so engage the crown when the eye shield is either in operative or inoperative position.

- 3. In the combination of a hat having a hard crown anda head band secured therein in spaced relation thereto, and a visor unit including a transparent eye shield adapted when in use to be disposed in front of the eyes of the wearer, side arms projecting rearwardly from the eye shield, means pivoting said side arms at their free ends at points on the hat for swinging movement of the eye shield from an operative position in front of the eyes of a wearer to an inoperative position out of the line of vision of the wearer; a tongue projecting upward from said eye shield between said hat band and crown and engaging the inner surface of said crown in in operative or inoperativeposition.

4. A visor for an industrial hat having a hard A crown and a head band secured therein in spaced relation, said visor comprising a transparent eye shield curved forwardly from end to end in plan,

side arms projecting rearwardly from the ends l of the eye shield and being curved in concave relation to each other, means. adapted to support said arms at their free ends between the crown and head band at the sides thereof, and a tongue of substantial height projecting upwardly from the upper edge of the eye shield and similarly curved, said tongue being adapted to engage the inner surface of the crown in frictional hol'de ing relation when the arms are so pivoted.

' wedging relation when the eye shield is either 5. A device as in claim 1 in which. said means 1 comprises side arms curved in concave relation to each other and projecting rearwardly from CHARLES WILLIAM MCCLUNG. PAUL RANSOM. 

